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Radarada

[HIP HOP] Truly a unique Buffalonian concoction, Radarada presents as hip-hop on the surface but with jazz at the foundation. Ana Vafai’s lilting vocals smoothe the edges on an already appealing blend of easily-digestible grooves and fun samples, flanked by a pair of male emcee’s delivering the rhymes.

Two Cow Garage

[ROCK] Columbus Ohio’s Two Cow Garage make honest rock and roll that merges alt-country leanings with an edgier punk spirit that recalls The Replacements. It’s a winning combination that’s carried the trio through soon-to-be seven releases and a number of pesky lineup shifts over nearly 15 years. As early purveyors of the Indiegogo financing scheme, Two Cow Garage stands as proof that the crowd-funding business model is sustainable.

Shilpa Ray

[INDIE ROCK] Shilpa Ray comes across like the love child of early Blondie and the Detroit Cobras infused with some vampiric seed a la Nick Cave.

Excision

[DUBSTEP] In January, dubstep overlord Datsik tore up the Town Ballroom. But if it weren’t for his partner in crime, Excision, Datsik might not have a career. In fact, the two Canadian producers have had a symbiotic relationship, rising in the dubstep scene simultaneously with help from one another. In 2009 they released an EP, Boom, on Rottun Records with another one of their friends, Flux Pavillion.

The Nth Power

[FUNK] If you didn’t catch The Nth Power back in September of this past year at The Tralf, you missed out on a display of some incredible musicianship. The band was on their way to the Catskill Chill music festival at the time and was hitting on all gears.

Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime

[TRIBUTE] Sublime helped bring ska punk into the forefront in the 1990s before the death of lead singer Bradley Nowell. With songs like “Santeria” and “What I Got,” the band’s influence stretched from their roots in California across the world. Taking their name from a song on Sublime’s first album, Badfish is a tribute band that captures the essence of Sublime and recreates that magic onstage.

Rookie of the Year

[INDIE ROCK] By 2010, vocalist Ryan Dunson was the last remaining member of Rookie of the Year. Undeterred, he pressed on, wading into pop waters in 2012 only to return to the burning indie-rock acoustic ballads that early fans fell in love with in the aptly titled, Goodnight Moon Part II.

Melvin Seals & JGB

[JAZZ] You could call Melvin Seals an early pioneer of jam band music. His keyboard and organ chops radiated from Jerry Garcia Band tunes, and now Seals carries the legacy of the late Jerry Garcia with Melvin Seals & JGB. Their high-spirited mix, ranging from funk and jazz to gospel and rock, plus a little R&B, is exploding with rich instrumentation and unstoppable spontaneity.

The Bunny The Bear

[ROCK] Buffalo based electro-hardcore outfit The Bunny The Bear will ignite the Waiting Room with jarring rhythms, amped up melodies, and wildly volatile stage presence on Tuesday, March 3. While the project has experienced several lineup changes throughout the years, their abrasive theatricality along with their ability to flip your rambunctious switch on, has remained unblemished.

Beautiful Story of Ugly Alaska

[ART] “Smell my hands, I didn’t touch her genitals.” Attorney and frequent contributor to The Public Florina Altshiler moved to Alaska to become an Assistant DA several years ago in response to staggering statistics concerning sexual assault. She found what everyone finds there: incredible natural beauty. But on the job she found a community beaten down by alcohol, drug abuse, and unemployment.

Golden Gloves

[SPORT] With pound-for-pound kings Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. finally agreeing to terms to fight on May 2, many observers will cotton on to the fight game and wonder whether the sport is finally alive again. But to contestants in the time-honored amateur tournament known as the Golden Gloves, boxing’s never been dead in the first place. It’s thriving enough that organizers have to schedule two first-round events—the first of which in January featured 50 fighters from all over the state—to accommodate the demand for new applicants to the sweet science.

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